Doubting between a pellet outdoor fireplace and a gas fire pit? Both bring warmth and atmosphere to your garden, but they differ significantly in flame experience, heating costs and sustainability.

Unsure whether to choose a pellet outdoor fireplace or a gas fire pit? Both bring warmth and atmosphere to your garden, but they differ significantly in flame experience, heating costs and sustainability. In this comparison we put them side by side, so you’ll know which suits you best.

Outdoor pellet stove and gas fire pit in a nutshell

Across the board, a pellet outdoor fireplace is the smartest choice: you get a real wood fire, lower fuel costs and a sustainable fuel. A gas fire pit mainly scores on convenience, as it turns on and off with a single knob. But modern pellet outdoor fireplaces are now largely catching up in terms of ease of use. Below we compare both on every point that matters.

How does a pellet outdoor fireplace work?

An outdoor pellet stove burns compressed wood pellets and doesn’t need gas or electricity. You fill the tube with pellets, light them, and the fire will burn for up to about two hours on a single load. Thanks to secondary combustion, the flue gases are burned again, so the stove burns with virtually no smoke and doesn’t require a chimney or flue.

Many models have a glass flue, so you can see the fire from all sides. A pellet-stop slide lets you control the fuel supply, and you can refill while it’s burning. You’ll get the best results with white ENplus A1 wood pellets, which burn cleanly and produce little ash.

How does a gas fire pit work?

A gas fire pit runs on propane from a gas bottle or a fixed gas connection. You open the burner knob, ignite the flame and have instant fire. The flame comes from a burner and can immediately be set to the desired height.

The gas bottle is usually hidden in or under the fire pit and needs to be replaced as soon as it’s empty. Most gas fire pits are on wheels or light enough to move. The flame is odourless and produces no smoke, but also lacks the character of a real wood fire. How long one bottle lasts depends on the setting and the size of the gas bottle.

Atmosphere and flame experience

This is where the biggest difference lies. An outdoor pellet stove gives you a real wood fire with lively, dancing flames and that familiar crackling sound. A gas fire pit produces an even gas flame that looks sleek, but lacks the character and sound of a real fire. If you sit outside for that campfire feeling, choose pellets. If you mainly want a neat, predictable heat source, gas will do the job. For long, cosy evenings on the patio, that living flame often makes all the difference.

Heating costs: is gas or pellets cheaper?

Pellets are considerably cheaper than propane gas. The fair comparison is the price per kWh of heat, because propane and pellets differ greatly in energy content. Propane delivers more energy per kilo, but is also much more expensive per kilo.

Fuel	Price per kg	Heat per kg	Price per kWh
Wood pellets (ENplus A1)	~€0.50	5.0 kWh	~€0.10
Propane (gas bottle)	~€4.00	12.8 kWh	~€0.31

Per unit of heat, wood pellets are therefore about three times cheaper than propane. Our Energy Pellets Excellent deliver 5.0 kWh per kilo, while you’ll easily pay four times as much per kilo for propane in a gas bottle.

Translated to an evening of burning for about three hours, you end up with a gas fire pit at roughly €5 to €9, and with a pellet outdoor fireplace at about €1.50 to €2.50. These are indicative amounts, because propane prices change almost weekly and pellet prices are seasonal. For a fair comparison, factor in not just the purchase price but especially the fuel consumption over an entire season.

Ease of use and maintenance

For convenience, gas traditionally had the upper hand: one button and the flame goes on or off, and there’s no ash left behind. Modern pellet outdoor stoves have largely closed that gap, though:

• A pellet-stop slide lets you immediately stop or adjust the fuel supply, so you can easily switch off the fireplace.
• Refilling while burning is no problem and doesn’t interrupt the fire.
• A built-in ash tool lets you remove ash while the stove is burning.
• Continuous burning is possible without resetting or relighting the stove.

What remains is that you do have to light an outdoor pellet stove and empty the ash pan now and then. A gas fire pit requires hardly any maintenance, but in return you have to buy, store and replace gas bottles.

Sustainability and emissions

Pellets are the more sustainable choice. Wood pellets are made from residual wood from the timber industry, so no extra trees need to be felled. The CO2 released during combustion equals what the tree absorbed while growing, whereas propane is a fossil fuel that adds net CO2. Thanks to secondary combustion, an outdoor pellet stove also emits very little particulate matter. From an environmental perspective, the conscious fire-lover therefore chooses pellets.

Safety and placement

Both types of fireplace are safe when used correctly, but there are some points to watch. A gas fire pit runs on a gas cylinder under pressure, which requires careful storage and regular checks of the hose and connection. A pellet outdoor fireplace has no gas cylinder, but it does have an open flame, so place it on a stable, non-combustible surface and keep your distance from flammable materials. Under a canopy, both are possible as long as you ensure sufficient ventilation. Because a pellet outdoor fireplace is low-smoke, it causes little nuisance there for you and your neighbours.

Purchase price

A gas fire pit is often cheaper to buy than an outdoor pellet stove, with basic models starting from a few hundred euros. An outdoor pellet stove is a larger investment, but you earn part of that back through lower fuel costs and a long lifespan. So don’t just look at the purchase price, but at the costs over several years.

Pellet outdoor fireplace or gas fire pit: the trade-off

Below you can see both options side by side in one overview:

Criterion	Outdoor pellet stove	Gas fire pit
Fuel	Wood pellets (sustainable)	Propane gas (fossil)
Flame experience	Real crackling wood fire	Even gas flame
Fuel costs	Low	Higher
Switching on and off	Lighting, switching off with pellet-stop slide	Instantly at the touch of a button
Maintenance	Empty ash pan (use ash tool during operation)	Hardly any maintenance
Sustainability	CO2 cycle from residual wood	Net CO2 emissions
Particulate matter	Little (secondary combustion)	Little
Gas bottle required	No	Yes
Purchase price	Higher, pays for itself over time	Often lower

Who is each type of outdoor fireplace for?

The best choice depends on your garden and how you use it. Here are a few common situations:

• Do you have a small or densely built-up garden? Then a low-smoke pellet outdoor fireplace is ideal, because it causes hardly any nuisance for the neighbours.
• If you love a real campfire feel with a lively flame, choose pellets.
• Do you heat often and keep an eye on your costs? Then pellets will win out in the long run.
• If you want the absolute maximum convenience and a low purchase price, then a gas fire pit is the one to consider.

Our choice: a low-smoke pellet outdoor fireplace

All things considered, the pellet outdoor stove is the better choice. You get a real wood fire with atmosphere, you burn more economically and sustainably, and you’re not dependent on gas bottles. The only real advantage of gas—its convenience—has largely been overtaken by the pellet stop-slide, refilling during use and the built-in ash tool.

Take a look at our low-smoke pellet outdoor fireplaces with pellet-stop slide. Combine them with quality wood pellets for the cleanest combustion. Still unsure which model suits you? Send us a message on WhatsApp and we’ll be happy to think along with you.

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